Publishers and authors who took part in a 2011 survey on digital publishing trends by the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) cited a lack of technical skills as a major barrier to digital publishing. To quote a couple of key points in the survey results:

• 'For publishers, the number one issue was a lack of technical expertise (42.5%)'
• 'Lack of technical expertise (36.1%) and lack of digital marketing skills (31.3%) also featured in authors’ concerns'.

Xmplar fills that gap by acting as a 'technical editing bridge' between authors and publishers. We work in structured XML, with the backup of conventional publishing and design software—so we can supply the technical expertise for clients.

We are all professional freelance editors specialising in web, desktop publishing and graphic design production. We have graduate qualifications, have served as in-house editors, and have considerable experience in handling production of documents and books across many subject areas.

Low-risk publishing with quality assurance. We adhere to the Australian Standards for Editing Practice published by the Institute of Professional Editors Australia (IPEd). We know the Australian Government Style manual inside out and backwards. And we implement W3C standards for digital publishing.

Editors can make ebooks. Our capabilities and skills—from the fine detail of editing and graphics design, right through to project management and author liaison—are second to none. We are equipped with desktop software and have the technical expertise to take clients' documents through editing, design and typesetting stages.

Digital publishing is new and changing rapidly, and so many businesses offer 'fast ebook production' services with simple conversion tools. Too often, the results are second-rate where authors end up second-best.

Xmplar is different. We offer quality production with XML technologies—properly edited, properly designed, properly managed. And unlike other specialist XML providers that offer 'business solutions', we can customise a suite of ebook products to your requirements.

Clients deserve the best quality and exemplary service. Because our editors have proven themselves in service, we know what high-level clients expect. High-level service. You can always expect to get thorough briefings for your job and be kept informed of progress along the way.

XML desktop publishing requires a lot of testing to get the design right as we work through a job—and we can meet deadlines with workaround solutions. We're ready with backup processes to finalise production, such as XHTML editing and PDF editing.

XML publishing is our passion. Digital publishing is full of experimentation as standards keep changing—new products and services come along while others lose relevance. We keep up with the latest standards and trends so that our clients get the best possible product that fits into the marketplace.

Xmplar actively keeps abreast of trends in ebook and publishing technology, researches the latest technology, and constantly develops new publishing processes and products. Here's a sample of what else we do:

• We attend conferences and seminars on publishing and technical communication.
• We use social media and forums to see what others are doing with ebooks around the world.
• We keep tabs on XML publishing jobs to gauge the demand for skilled editors.
• We publish the results of our research for editors on the resource site xmleditoz.net.au.

If you have a publishing issue you think we need to look at more closely—tell us and we'll aim to incorporate it into our research and development.